Daily Archives: May 15, 2020

54-year old street-vendor, Kashem,is a daily basis wage-earner who lives in a congested slum in the city of Dhaka, Bangladesh. He lost his wife 9 years ago. He has a 16-yearold daughter, Kulsum, who is a low paid readymade garment worker. Recently, she lost her job due to the COVID-19. Kashemis also unable to re-open his street shop because of present countywide lockdown. Kashems life now stands on a double-edge sword: outside the house is the fear of rapidly contagious pandemic and inside the house is starvation and half-starvation without any income. Suffering is endless here for Kashem who without any kind of savings or income generation has to pay house-rent and maintain livelihoods.This story of suffering is not only about Kashemand Kulsum, but also about almost half of the population in Bangladesh and across South Asia: a garment worker, a street vendor, a rickshaw puller, a construction worker, a transport worker and it goes on and on. Even the fear of laying off hits the private sector executive level job market also. Recently, at least dozens of prominent mass media houses in Bangladesh sacked their officials and employees as the pandemic ascended. One of the prominent TV channels in the country not to be named fired 3 of its staffson the very day of the World Press Freedom Day this year. This demonstrates the magnitude of the crisis the country is facing today and going to face in coming days.

Researchers from Dhaka Universitys Institute of Health Economics estimate that, around 15 million people of different sectors will become unemployed in Bangladesh due to the slowdown of trade and business caused by deadly virus. Moreover, some Bangladeshi economist and analyst estimated that nearly 20 million people might lose their jobless due to COVID-19 crisis. They estimated that people who are involved in labor-oriented sectors like garment workers, construction workers, transport workers have already become temporarily jobless, which putting serious stress on the economy and it will have a huge adverse impact on livelihoods. Day-laborers, transport workers, hawkers, the employeesof hotels, restaurants, and different shops and other informal workers are the worst victims of the halt in economic activity as they have lost their means to earn bread and butter. According to the Labor Force Survey-2017, around 60.8 million people were involved in various economic activities while informal employment or labor-oriented sectors were dominating as 85.1 percent of the total population in Bangladesh. The contribution of informal jobs to urban areas was 13.1 million and 38.6 million in rural areas.

According to Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS),around 34 million people, or 20.5 per cent of the population, live below the poverty line. So, there is no alternative but to provide a huge amount of government assistance to keep this population alive. The government announced the incentive package but its not sufficient for the large number of population. People need basic things at the time of the pandemic. So, the government has to increase health care as well as grass-feeding and keep them alive.

The pandemic has brought much hardship to workers in informal sectors or labor-oriented sectors, including some unnoticed vulnerable class of workers like sex worker and transgender communities. SexWorker Network in Bangladesh, a sex-worker-right monitor, estimated that at least 8,000 of sex workers have already become homeless in Dhaka. About 150,000 sex workers in Bangladesh are one of the worst hit communities following the shutdown. On top of that these communities receive no attention from the government or civil society aid groups leading to exacerbated endurance for these communities.

The unemployment scenario is more or less the same across the South Asia. Similarly, in India, the countrywide lockdown to control the spread of coronavirus has seen 122 million Indians lose their jobs in April alone. Indias unemployment rate is now at a record peak of 27.1%, according to the Centre for Monitoring the Indian Economy (CMIE). Unemployment hits 23.5% in April, a sharp spike from 8.7% in March. And the unemployment rate is the highest in the urban areas. The findings of the survey estimate that the worst situation is in Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, and Bihar. There is an unemployment rate peaking about 50 percent. But hilly States had the lowest incidence of unemployment as of April, the survey said, pointing out that the rate in Himachal Pradesh stood at 2.2%, Sikkim at 2.3% and Uttarakhand at 6.5%.

Meanwhile in Pakistan, the Federal Minister for Planning and Development, Asad Umar, predicted that around 18 million people might lose their jobs as a result of lockdowns. But Pakistan makes a pleasant paradigm to prevent the worst unemployment situation. world fifth populated country Pakistan takes a green stimulus scheme, which is a win-win for the given environment and the overthrown unemployed population. Lahore has created more than 63,000 jobs for unemployed day laborers or labor-oriented workers and by relaunching the nations ambitious 10 billion Tree Tsunami Campaign. This project is a part of Pakistans existing initiative to plant billions of trees to counter the effects of climate change. Similar to other South Asian countries, Pakistan is badly affected by climate change, experiencing more than 150 extreme weather events between 1999 and 2018. Another step is, PM Imran Khan launched a web portal for the victims of lockdown. Those who have lost their jobs, will be able to register themselves on the portal. Under this Ehsaas Emergency Cash program, registered unemployed will be given a maximum RS 12,000.

In Afghanistan, according to data by the Biruni Institute, a local economic think-tank, as a result of the pandemic, 6 million people have already lost their jobs in the country where 80 percent of people live below the poverty line. The political crisis is the other reason for unemployment in the country. The political crisis, security threats, the lockdown of cities, and the reduction of international are the great matter of concern the war-ravaged Afghanistan. The Ministry of Economy had warned earlier that unemployment in Afghanistan will increase by 40% and poverty will increase by 70% because of unemployment and the spread of the COVID-19. But the ray of hope is, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved $220 million in emergency aid for Afghanistan to help cushion the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Other countries in South Asia are also experiencing the rampage of pandemic while poverty was already an embedded part of their economy. Pre-pandemic poverty rate as estimated: 8.2 percent in both Bhutan and the Maldives, 25 percent in Nepal, 33 percent in Sri Lanka.This rate is highly likely to increase in an unprecedented scale.

The International Labour Organization said, nearly half the worlds workers are at immediate risk of losing their jobs. The sobering statement will ring alarm bells in economies around the world, with every nation on the planet likely to be affected by the devastating fallout from the spread of coronavirus. Some 1.6 billion workers in the informal or labor-oriented sectors, almost half of the global labor force, as well as those at the most vulnerable end of the employment ladder are in danger of losing their livelihoods.

South Asia is home to over 1.8 billion people and houses half of the worlds impoverished communities. The region has the potential to become the factory of the world next to China as the world is turning back to China. But uncertainty remains how the region will overcome the upcoming post-pandemic recession and will feed the workforce to remain alive to take over the global labor market. Nonetheless, some employers are taking advantage of pandemic period by soaring the labor oppression which is not a humanistic approach and will lead to the trust-crisis and labor-unrest in the region. That said, South Asian leaders should work together to build the region during the pandemic and post-pandemic recession How was the May Day this year for laborers and working-class people was better understood by laborers and working-class people who lost their earnings or only means of livelihoods due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I wish them a late happy May Day and long-lasting solidarity.

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When India Tested a Nuclear Device on Its Citizens - Modern Diplomacy

As leaders of organizations committed to securing civil and human rights, we have been in constant conversation about the impact of coronavirus on communities of color. The global pandemic has highlighted just how much work is left to be done to build a just and inclusive society and serves as a tragic reminder that we are far from reaching that ideal.

With healthcare, food security and safe housing in jeopardy and job loss attaining levels that may soon exceed unemployment during the Great Depression, we are reminded daily of the structural barriers to justice and inclusivity and the racial inequities highlighted by the pandemic.

Today, the deep relationship in this country between race and povertyand its dire consequencesare inescapable. While no one is immune from the coronavirus pandemic that has quickly spread throughout the nation, the virus's stark, disproportionate impact on communities of color has been painfully clear.

The public health statistics lone are staggering. Thirteen percent of the U.S. population is black, but according to the CDC, black patients make up 33 percent of people who have been hospitalized with COVID-19. Black and Latinx individuals in New York City are twice as likely to die from coronavirus as are their white counterparts. In Chicago and Louisiana, where black people make up about one-third of the population, they account for 70 percent of coronavirus deaths. The Navajo Nation has more confirmed coronavirus cases per capita than every state except New York and New Jersey.

Many of the contributing factors for these gross disparities arise from systems and structures of oppression that have persisted in the U.S. throughout our history. These inequities have been amplified even further by the coronavirus.

It is important to recognize the widespread and deep-rooted systemic issues contributing to the high coronavirus infection and death rates for communities of color. For example: less access to quality and affordable health care, resulting in higher levels of heart disease, diabetes and obesity, which are now increased risk factors for coronavirus. The lack of bilingual, culturally competent information makes it harder for individuals to access facts about coronavirus and seek appropriate medical care during this crisis. And there's also fear of seeking medical care due to immigration policies that cause many marginalized communities to fear ICE enforcement against themselves, family or friends.

Additionally, the ability to practice social distancing is much harder because black people, Latinx people, immigrant and refugees are over-represented in essential, high-contact jobs in the fields of agriculture, transportation, sanitation, grocery stores, maintenance, food processing, and deliverynot to mention those working in health care facilities. In addition, communities of color also suffer from a greater inability to practice social distancing because of closer living conditions caused by historic and pervasive housing discrimination, as well as greater vulnerability due to dangerous living conditions resulting from higher rates of homelessness and incarceration.

The severe economic downturn triggered by the pandemic is also having a bigger impact on communities of color for numerous other reasons. Despite the enormous gains made by the civil rights movementand other movements combating and mitigating the pervasive harms caused by the history of discrimination and racism in this countrythere are still deep and widespread structural barriers to racial equity. We see this in the lack of opportunity and access many people of color have to vitally needed goods and services. Such barriers include lack of access to quality education (which in this country is significantly funded by local property taxes, often relegating children in poorer districts to severely resource-strapped schools), jobs that pay a living wage and good health care. Additionally, both the enormously disparate rates of incarceration we see between white communities and those of color and policies adversely affecting the humane treatment of immigrants and refugees are part of a well-documented connection between the oppressive systems of the past and the realities of today.

We also cannot afford to ignore the uptick in bias-crimes directed at Asian-Americans, the proliferation of anti-Semitic conspiracy theories accusing Jews of creating or spreading the virus and some of the extremist and problematic actors behind recent anti-quarantine protests across the country. The virus that is hate and anti-Semitism thrives and metastasizes in situations such as these, and we have already begun to witness that online and in the real world.

The National Urban League, Unidos US and ADL have long fought against government policies that have maintained these inequities. Further, our organizations have consistently maintained that words matter. When top leadership in this country uses the extraordinary power of bully pulpits to whip up anxiety and fear and to divide rather than unite the country, it leads to an environment of greater willingness to accept and propagate inequities.

In the context of the current pandemic, there are a few things our leaders can do now to address these racial disparities. We believe that states must include demographic data in their public reporting for individuals who have contracted, recovered from and died from coronavirus, that the federal government must take responsibility for mitigating risk to essential workers, that we must advocate for added protections for those in manual essential jobs and that we must ensure stimulus measures focus on increasing testing and economic support for marginalized communities.

Without action, these social inequities will persist and likely will even be exacerbated long after we flatten the coronavirus curve.

Acknowledging, understanding and mitigating oppressive systems and structures is a necessary step towards building a just and inclusive society. The impact of coronavirus is a tragic reminder of what we already knew: We have a long way to go.

Janet Murgua is president and CEO of Unidos US; Marc Morial is president and CEO of the National Urban League; and Jonathan Greenblatt is CEO of ADL (the Anti-Defamation League).

The views expressed in this article are the writers' own.

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Coronavirus Highlights Tragic, Longstanding Racial Inequity in the U.S. | Opinion - Newsweek

THE EDITOR, Madam:

THE COVID-19 pandemic is here to stay for the foreseeable future. This has left the Jamaican Government in a precarious situation in ensuring Jamaicas economy gets back on track and mitigating the social gaps exacerbated by the pandemic.

However, this is also an opportunity for the Jamaican Government to take the socio-economic issues by the horns and work towards developing our human capital and, by extension, create sustainable changes throughout our society.

Interestingly, Prime Minister Holness stated that our survival as a people is often based around small business such as corner or community bars; he called this the economy around bars. Based on ones anecdotal evidence, it could be argued that Jamaica has the largest number of bars per square mile in any developing country, and some argue this as a fact. The point is, Jamaica has a whole lot of bars. We may then ask ourselves the question: why is this a cultural phenomenon in a place like Jamaica? Then, we may start to think that historically we produce rum; we may also agree that bars are the poor mans escape from the harsh realities of Jamaica. The point is, Jamaica has a lot of bars because our society has failed to develop human capital and nurture creativity for the development of other economic ventures outside of bars and small merchant shops across the island.

Jamaicans are talented people, but we must admit that we have failed poor Jamaicans by not investing in their development, as a people, beyond remedial education. We have many bar owners and shopkeepers who had dreams of becoming something else in life, but they have not seen many others like themselves being authentic and successful. So we turn to what we know for survival, being shopkeepers and bartenders.

Our educational institutions need to inspire people to be not just lawyers or doctors, but successful people. For many years, human capital development has lagged behind because we are not able to teach students life skills, to nurture creativity and, ultimately, promote diversity and inclusion in the Jamaican society. Jamaicans are largely descendants of slaves and much like our brothers across the globe who had the same experiences, we are susceptible to poverty and anti-blackness in varied forms. Particularly in Jamaica, we struggle with colourism and classism.

Teach our people to love themselves beyond the vestiges of colonialism and this will inspire Jamaicans to look beyond systems of oppression and cultivate their unique creative spirits into economic powerhouses. But first, the Government must provide room for this growth by encouraging entrepreneurship and innovation in forgotten communities.

Instead, in the year 2020 we are scrambling to register these unregistered bars and shrink our informal economy. This is great; however, Jamaicans are more than unattached bar owners. We are diverse people with many dreams and aspirations. Jamaica needs to create room for this, to enable each Jamaican to be innovative and successful. We can do this by employing meritocracy in our institutions, diversifying educational curriculum and engender critical thinking and, last, we should invest in reducing classism and social exclusion of minorities throughout our society. This will prove beneficial for our future and beyond. Jamaica nice, but it can be nicer for everyone.

@speaknowja

speaknowja1962@outlook. com

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Letter of the Day | We must develop our human capital - Jamaica Gleaner

Andrea Circle Bear, of the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation near Eagle Butte, S.D., was the 29th federal inmate to die due to the coronavirus in Bureau of Prisons custody. She was sentenced to serve 26 months. Circle Bear was being held at Tripp County Jail in South Dakota up until March 20. Then, because she was pregnant, she was transferred to Federal Medical Center Carswell in Fort Worth, Texas. FMC Carswell is the only federal medical prison for women in the United States. (Indian Country Today, April 29)

Mural art depicting Indigenous triumph over snake-like colonial destruction of humans and land. Taken outside the Station Museum of Contemporary Art in Houston. Mural by Deanna Santiago of the Estok Gna, also known as the Carrizo Comecrudo Tribe of Texas.Credit: WW photo: Mirinda Crissman

Upon her arrival, social distancing and quarantine measures for prisoners and guards were not deployed to prevent the spread of coronavirus until after the facility officer of the American Federation of Government Employees Local filed complaints about the minimal guidelines they were given. This delay in implementing safe practices is but a part of the systemic negligence that killed Andrea Circle Bear.

After displaying symptoms for COVID-19, she was sent to a Fort Worth Hospital. Circle Bear was placed on a ventilator to help her breathe. On April 1, she gave birth while on the ventilator via cesarean section, and on April 4 she tested positive for COVID-19, according to the BOP. She died on the ventilator, and her baby was returned to her family in South Dakota. (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, May 1)

Families Against Mandatory Minimums President Kevin Ring explained in a press release calling for an investigation into Circle Bears execution by the state: Not every prison death is avoidable, but Andrea Circle Bears certainly seems to have been she simply should not have been in a federal prison under these circumstances. In fact, nothing better demonstrates our mindless addiction to punishment more than the fact that, in the midst of a global pandemic, our government moved a 30-year-old, COVID-vulnerable, pregnant woman not to a hospital or to her home, but to a federal prison. (tinyurl.com/y7j258qt)

U.S. perpetrates racial and gender violence

Violence and neglect administered by the U.S. are nothing new to Indigenous nations, as theyve been steadfast in their resistance to ongoing genocide for six centuries. Imperialism and ongoing [settler] colonialisms have been ending worlds for as long as they have been in existence. (A Billion Black Anthropocenes or None by Kathryn Yusoff) This system was constructed, and it can be dismantled.

Legislation has been one of the ways this imposed order has tried to separate Indigenous people in North America. Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate scholar Dr. Kim Tall Bear explains that the Dawes Act of 1887 and state-sanctioned monogamous marriage functioned as colonial tactics to divide and conquer this land and its people. The act marked the breakup of collective tribal land into individual allotments, which forced Indigenous people into capitalist and proprietary relationships to land, which had not existed previously. (All My Relations podcast, March 19, 2019)

By offering 160 acres to a head of household, 80 acres for a wife, and 40 acres for each kid, there was a real incentive to be monogamously married and to biologically reproduce. Within this structure, women could not be considered heads of household. So women and children became legally codified as the property of those who could. As a man owned and possessed land, he owned and possessed his spouse and children.

Ongoing settler colonialisms and the recent execution of Andrea Circle Bear demonstrate why the U.S. is a central perpetrator of racial and gender violence. Indigenous people are arrested at high rates disproportionate to their percentage of the population. They are the only group that is killed by police at a higher rate than Black people.

At the same time, Indigenous women, girls and Two Spirits people are murdered or reported missing every year. To raise awareness for the Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women, Girls and Two Spirit people, organizations like Missing Flowers, Native Justice Coalition and the Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women raise #MMIWG2S in our collective consciousness.

Violence against this segment of the population remains unbearably high. The Department of Justice found that the murder rate of Native American women is 10 times higher than the national average. And we know this is underreported. The National Crime Information Center reports that, in 2016, there were 5,712 reports of missing American Indian and Alaska Native women and girls, though the U.S. Department of Justices federal missing persons database, NamUs, only logged 116 cases. Human trafficking and mass murder, whether carried out by state or nonstate actors, is in the service of capitalism and white supremacy. (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Report, Urban Indian Health Institute, 2018)

Native people have been in reciprocal relationships with the land for generations, despite attempts to disrupt that. Where war is being waged upon the land via fracking for oil, abandoned uranium mines or the construction of the wall across the southern U.S. border First Nations people find themselves in zones sacrificed in the name of profit for a few. Destruction of the environment and other settler-imposed structural inequalities are the reason why infection rates for COVID-19 have been so high on reservations disproportionate to the Native makeup of the population. (Workers World, April 29)

Gov. Noem threatens legal sovereignty of Sioux tribes

As COVID-19 ravages Indigenous communities, we turn to Andrea Circle Bears tribal lands. South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem is threatening federal legal action against the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and the Oglala Sioux Tribe because they refuse to take down highway security checkpoints, which they put up to protect their people from the coronavirus. Native nations understand that self-determination and self-defense are a matter of life or death. (NPR, May 12)

Support for Indigenous sovereignty must be central in our struggle for liberation. We must all change our relationships to this land and to each other. On our way to that not-so-distant future, we must recognize expressions of gendered violence take many forms, including police brutality, mass incarceration, immigration policies and state-imposed reproductive oppression, and we must fight against them. Solidarity with Andrea Circle Bears family and community, both inside and outside prison walls.

Prisons disappear people. We need to end cycles of colonial violence by disappearing prisons. Tear down the walls!

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Andrea Circle Bear and six centuries of genocide - Workers World